The Arrow
by jaqtkd
Summary: An attack in the woods reveals far more than Arthur is prepared to deal with. A three parter including a poem and a monologue.
1. Part 1

**The Arrow**

Part 1:

Arthur stood frozen with his back against the broad oak tree, trying to come to terms with what he was seeing. The summer sun shone brightly against his face and heated his chain mail to the point of discomfort but, the only thing he could feel at the moment, was the bitter chill of fear and betrayal.

There, hovering a mere inch from his forehead was an arrow - frozen as still as he was - and the bandit that had fired it was now lying half way across the field, thrown on his back by some powerful, unknown force.

Unknown? Well, not quite.

Arthur was still unable to take his eyes off the arrow that had almost killed him, but was also quite aware of the out-of-focus form of his servant standing shock-still in front of him. With a great deal of effort, the prince adjusted his focus and looked at the young man's terrified face. His eyes were their usual blue now, with no hint of the golden hue that had infused them a moment ago. Although the fear that filled their depths seemed even stronger than his own terror.

"Merlin ...?" His voice sounded strained and unnatural - as if it didn't quite belong to him. Above them, the birds started to sing happily, mocking the bizarre situation he now found himself in.

"I ... that wasn't me. It was ... ah ..." There was a quiet desperation in the young man's voice. Arthur's mind was racing. What would he say now? What would he do? What _should_ he do?

"Merlin, the arrow? Would you mind?" Arthur managed eventually. It would be hard enough to face what was coming next, without having an arrow pointing at his head at the same time.

"Oh yes, sorry ..." There was no gesture, no words, no light in his eyes; the projectile simply dropped to the ground. Arthur focused on Merlin and the boy coloured under the scrutiny. There was no way he could deny it now but, despite the evidence, it still seemed impossible.

"Please say that wasn't what I think it was?"

"If that's what you _want_ me to say."

"Merlin!"

"I couldn't tell you before Arthur. You _know_ why?" He was begging him to understand, but how could he sympathise with this?

"How could you have such ... it's just not possible. All these years ...?" Words failed him again. Merlin shrugged and sat down on a nearby log. At long last, Arthur found he could move his body. He walked a few steps until he was in the shade, only now beginning to realise how hot he was. One part of him thought about going to sit next to Merlin, whilst the other part recoiled in horror at the idea. Was that fear he was experiencing now? Fear of Merlin?

"Are you going to tell Uther?" Despite the shock, despite the horror and the hurt, Arthur's heart gave a jolt on hearing the words and the way Merlin's voice had choked as he said them. Up until this moment he had not even thought of _that_ situation - of his father's first law; he had been too shocked by the extraordinary, impossible idea that his clumsy, goofy, idiot of a servant actually had magic. He looked up at Merlin to see fear on his face and tears in his eyes, and just as quickly looked away, unable to face such obviously strong emotions or the significance of that very important question.

"I don't know."

"I-I understand but ... Arthur, I can't protect you if I'm dead." The prince looked back at him, shocked at his strong tone of voice as much as the statement itself. He opened his mouth to utter some put-down about how ridiculous that idea was, only to quickly close it again. Merlin had just saved his life and he had the uncomfortable feeling that, once he'd recovered enough to think things through, he would realise that it wasn't the first time. "Arthur," Merlin continued. "Please say something."

"Why? To make you feel better?"

"No, of course not." He passed a tired hand across his brow and took a quick swig of water from the nearby skin. Arthur suddenly realised that he was thirsty too. "I am sorry, truly I am. I-I couldn't help it. Apparently I was born this way in order to ..."

"Look, right now, I don't care about why you've broken the law, committed treason, lied to me, laughed behind my back ..."

"Not that. I never have ..."

"I should turn you over to my father. I should have you killed for this."

"Arthur, this is me, I just saved your life. You know I'm not evil, you know that I would never do anything to cause harm to you or Camelot?"

"I'm not sure of anything any more."

"Be sure of that, at least." He had believed the boy his loyal servant. More and more recently he thought he was beginning to consider him as a friend. But now? How could he ever trust him again? Could he even trust himself? Would he be able to live with himself if he turned him over to Uther to be killed?

Merlin held out the water skin to him and, after a long pause he moved cautiously towards him to take it. Merlin noticed his nerves as he approached and seemed uncomfortable to witness them. Arthur snatched the skin quickly and turned away to drink, embarrassed to show such weakness in front of his servant.

"You've been close to me all this time. All the opportunities you've had. if you'd wanted to cause me harm before now ... kill me ...?"

"Arthur, I've saved your life, and Uther's too; numerous times."

"But you've had the power to kill us all this time?"

"Or to let others kill you ... yes, but no more than any servant would have by more conventional means. I-I could never let any harm come to you Arthur. Quite the opposite ... I only want to protect you." The quiet confidence in which these words were spoken was somehow even more terrifying then the actual magic he'd witnessed earlier.

"Exactly how much power do you have anyway?" This time he did find the strength to look him in the eye, only to have Merlin turn away, apparently embarrassed.

"Ah ... I don't think you want to know that answer quite yet." Arthur groaned.

"I have no idea what to do about any of this," he admitted.

"Can't you just ignore it? Pretend it didn't happen? Just let me return with you? Have me keep doing what I've always done, work for you, keep my head down, keep my secret. In time, you'll see what use I can be to you."

"Or I could order you to leave. You could go home to Ealdor." He paused suddenly remembering the time he'd visited the village with Merlin and groaned. "Oh. That wind. It _was_ you!"

"You're going to get a lot of those moment from now on," said Merlin, with just a touch of his old humour showing through. Arthur glared at him and he quickly made his expression neutral. The two young men remained silent for a long time whilst the birds continue to sing their summer songs and the crickets joined them with their own early evening chorus.

"It's getting late," Merlin said eventually. "What do you want me to do?"

"If I said you were to come back to Camelot with me to face charges of sorcery?" Merlin pulled a face.

"I think I might have to refuse." Arthur stared at him for a long while. An hour ago that answer would have seemed highly amusing to the prince, but now he was fairly confident that it was the absolute truth and that he did not have the ability to make Merlin comply.

"And if I just left you here? Returned with some excuse as to why you weren't with me?"

"It's my destiny to protect you Arthur," Merlin replied and the prince again looked at his servant, shocked at hearing such a firm and confident statement. "I don't have a choice any more than you do. One way or another I would find a way to keep an eye on you."

There was another very long silence.

"I'm going home," said Arthur eventually. "This afternoon never happened. You can follow me if you wish."

"Then I shall follow you. I would do so anyway, even if it wasn't my destiny."

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_A/N Another little sample of my "Reveal" fics from an Advent Calendar collection. As such I have tied three ficlets together to follow a short story. Part Two is a poem, Part Three is a monologue from Arthur. Sorry, definitely only three "chapters" for this fic but a new **long** multi-parter is on it's way very soon!_


	2. Part 2

**The Arrow**

Part Two

**Blue eyes flash amber**

**An Arrow stops mid-flight.**

**The enemy is defeated.**

**It was magic, and it was seen.**

XOXOX

**Blue eyes flash with guilt**

**Terror fills the wood.**

**A friend stands frozen.**

**It was magic, and it was seen.**

XOXO

**Blue eyes fill with tears**

**Pleading for forgiveness.**

**A love is lost.**

**It was magic, and it is forbidden.**

XOXO

**I am so sorry …**

**

* * *

**

_Inspired by Gaius' line to Merlin during "The Witch Finder"_

_Those of you who have been reading my other fics might find this slightly familiar. I did post it as an independant poem but soon decided to edit it slightly so it would fit into this little trio._**  
**


	3. Part 3

**The Arrow**

Part Three

Have you met my servant, Merlin? You can't miss him. Tall, ridiculously skinny, big ears. An idiot. At least, that's what I thought for about three years and then ...

Then I started to think he might have a twin.

Ye gods, can you imagine that? Two Merlins!

I think perhaps I saw hints of that second Merlin early on but was too distracted by other things to notice. Our very first meeting for example, and the stubborn, confident way that someone like him stood up to someone like me. And a few other times when something had obviously hurt or upset him and I saw the quiet, thoughtful soul behind the fool.

However, it wasn't until the start of his fourth year here in Camelot that the other part of him really started to show through. There was the time when my father was ill and Cenred was attacking us; my servant was fumbling whilst assisting me with my armour as usual and then ... and then I saw a different Merlin in front of me - one who talked about destiny, fate, victory and trust - and his face when he said those words had changed and those eyes contained a soul far older than his twenty odd years. "Wisdom," I had said at the time, but I think that was when I started to see something else, something far more profound.

Then there was that time when I was to marry Elena and we talked of destiny - again - and that other Merlin spoke as if he understood, as if he _knew_ what I was going through, and his words gave me the strength to understand what I must do. Then again, that time when we were hiding in the cave, when I was struggling to understand who Morgana really was and why she had betrayed us, and Merlin's words managed to drag me away from my brooding.

From then on I saw that other Merlin more and more often but now I know that he'd always been there and I hadn't noticed - or rather ...

Perhaps I have a twin too. For me it's always been a matter of having to act a certain way as the prince of Camelot, and I used to find it almost impossible to switch that personality off. Gradually, with certain people ... well, mostly Guinevere and Merlin ... I was able to relax - be myself a little more and I think it was _that_ Arthur who started to see the other Merlin.

So, it was both unfortunate and inevitable that it was the Prince that had to see the real Merlin before Arthur did. Does that make any sense?

We'd been attacked by bandits - a fairly common occurrence unfortunately and when Merlin saw the arrow coming towards me he acted instinctively and stopped it ... with magic. Despite everything I was beginning to discover about him, this latest shock was rather too much to handle and I'm afraid ... well, I sulked - for a while. Well, it was a week. Alright, perhaps closer to two.

The worst thing about those two weeks was the coldness between us. No banter, no horseplay, very few words. That is to say, Arthur and Merlin didn't talk at all, only the Prince and the Servant. I called him "boy" instead of Merlin or any of the other names I tended to use, and he understood, as I did, that that word was far more insulting than "idiot" or "fool." Likewise it hurt like hell every time he called me "my lord" and I longed to have him call me "prat" or "clotpole" never mind simply "Arthur."

I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for Guinevere. Dear, sweet, patient Guinevere. How on earth does she put up with me? I don't know if she knew his secret before that day or not and _I_ certainly didn't tell her but, I do know that she was talking to Merlin, comforting him as she was me - well hopefully not in exactly the same way she was comforting me but, you know what I mean.

If she hadn't known before, I assume she wheedled it out of him then, because she kept telling me how upset and afraid he was and telling him how hurt and confused I was and soon started to accuse me of being an idiot. Me? ... Well, perhaps she had a point.

In my defence I have to explain that the Prince was blinded by everything Uther had taught him about magic and it's corruptive force, whilst Arthur knew that Merlin didn't have an evil bone in his body. Those two parts of me waged a battle inside my head for days until Guinevere made me realise that it was Arthur's opinion of Merlin that mattered, not the Prince's opinion of the Sorcerer. Ultimately I knew that it was me that had to make the first move to sort things out between us once and for all.

When he arrived that morning I noticed for the first time just how pale he looked, and how thin. I suddenly worried that this situation might have caused him to stop eating and someone of his build could hardly afford to skip any more meals. I'd been told by numerous people that I looked like hell too, although it didn't help my mood when I heard exactly why most people thought I'd fallen out with my servant. Lover's tiff indeed!

"Merlin?" I asked quietly. He jumped at the use of his name and looked at me with wide, hopeful eyes. I was torn between pleasure at seeing him look at me properly again, and pain at viewing the sadness in his eyes.

"Yes ... sire?" He had only ever used that title in public - always before it had been a sarcastic "my lord" in private.

"I'm sorry."

"_You_ are?" Well, he did have some apologising to do too.

"Yes, I've just been a bit confused."

"Of course you have." He smiled and relief washed over me as I saw it. I tried to smile back but it's never been that easy for me. Merlin's always worn his heart on his sleeve, I've been trained to hide mine as deep as possible.

"I haven't told anyone. I didn't even tell Guinevere," I admitted.

"I know. Look, it's me that should be sorry. I wanted to tell you ... for ages now but ..."

"Yes, I understand. My father."

"Yes."

"Why do you stay here when you know what he'd do to you?"

"You know the answer to that." I looked away briefly, struggling to interpret the intensity in that gaze.

"Destiny?" I guessed.

"Destiny, fate, duty ... yes. Friendship?"

"Friendship." There was a long but comfortable silence. "Merlin?"

"Yes ... Arthur?" There was a warmth in his voice. A relief that he felt he could again use my name.

"Thank you?"

"What for?"

"The arrow." He grinned broadly. Oh how I'd missed that mad grin.

"Just the arrow? What about the dagger, the snakes, the griffin, the Black Knight, the questing beast, the ..?"

"Shut up Merlin!" The grin grew even broader.

The End

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_Thank you for all you lovely reviews and alerts on this one. Really pleased as it was so short. If you've enjoyed this, feel free to put me on author alert so you don't miss my new fic - out this weekend._


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